Detail, Will Ryman, The Roses, Park Avenue installation, 2011 (Photograph by the author)

The rose has long been depicted in the fine arts and figures prominently in The Four Seasons, Springby the eighteenth-century French artist François Boucher, which can be viewed along with his paintings of the other three seasons in the galleries of The Frick Collection. Associate Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Colin Bailey, in a 2004 Members’ Magazine article, eloquently describes the scene that unfolds in Spring as depicting a “music-making swain who has cast his tambourine to one side so that he may attach flowers to the braids of a remarkably self-composed shepherdess. A beribboned basket overflowing with cut flowers sits on her lap, while a stem of roses (one open, one in bud) rests on the ground at the edge of her skirts.” He continues, “Desire is present but controlled . . . Only the roses, which the poet La Fontaine had considered as fragrant as kisses, pose the mildest of threats to this well-mannered scene.”

Until the buds of spring begin to bloom (and after), I encourage you to visit the Frick galleries to enjoy Spring and other works that incorporate enchanting botanicals and to sit for a moment in the tranquil Garden Court of the museum. Have no fear, if you are far, far away from New York, you can search the collection online through the Frick’s website or experience the museum through the Google Art Project, which also includes fellow New York Art Research Consortium (NYARC) member The Museum of Modern Art.

For inquisitive minds that desire more than just visuals, books related to the rose and other flowers can be found in the holdings of NYARC libraries by searching Arcade through the subject headings linked below: